Those devices with tiny explosives . Also tonight, the federal reserve going big with its first Interest Rate cut in more than four years. What it means for your money. The race for the White House after both candidates courted the teamsters. The powerful union making a Surprise Move today, something it hasnt done in nearly 30 years. Harvey weinstein back in court for the first time since Emergency Heart Surgery. The new Sex Crime Charge he faces. Also back in court, sean diddy combs. Why a second judge denied bail in his Sex Trafficking Case as his lawyer slammed his Jail Conditions as horrific. The accident on a Childrens Field Trip to an Apple Orchard, the Wagon Ride overturning. Dozens injured. And their story was immortalized in a hit movie. Today the special honor on Capitol Hill for the hidden figures who helped America Land on the moon. We have a liftoff 32 minutes past the hour. Announcer this is Nbc Nightly News with lester holt. Good evening, and welcome. For a second day in a row a wave of explosions from boobytrapped wireless devices rocked lebanon striking both Fear And Anger and calls for revenge by hezbollah, which blames israel. The latest explosions killing at least 14 and injuring hundreds. It follows yesterdays attacks in which pagers rigged with hidden explosives appeared to target Hezbollah Members who were known to carry the devices. Two u. S. Officials telling us they were made aware by israel that it was going to do something, but american officials say they had no details and were caught by surprise when the reports came out denying Involvement Or Knowledge in the operation. Today simultaneous explosions were traced to walkietalkies. The unprecedented attacks striking at the heart of hezbollahs Communications Network and recasting the nature of the mideast conflict. Raf sanchez reports from israel. Reporter Tonight A Second Wave of explosions tearing through lebanon. Yesterday it was pagers belonging to Hezbollah Members. Today its walkietalkies detonating simultaneously according to lebanese state media. This blast at a Funeral Today where a Hezbollah Member killed in yesterdays bombing. The lebanese army blowing up one walkietalkie in a controlled explosion outside a hospital in beirut. The iranian backed militants unable to stop what u. S. Officials tell Nbc News is a vast israeli Covert Operation targeting hezbollahs personnel and its Communications Network. Lebanons Health Ministry says at least 14 people were killed in todays blasts on top of the 12 killed yesterday. Two of them children, and hospitals struggling with an influx of more than 3,000 injured people. Doctors involved in treating the wounded in the Pager Attack say they saw many injuries to the face where people were looking directly at the device as well as the side where it was clipped to a belt or in a pocket. Israel refusing to say if it was involved, but tonight the Defense Minister says the war is moving to a new phase with troops shifting from gaza to the fight against hezbollah on the Lebanon Border as israel vows to make it safe for thousands of its civilians displaced by the fighting to finally return home. The New York times citing two officials says israeli agents planted tiny explosives inside the pagers, which detonated after receiving messages that appeared to be from hezbollah leadership. Many of the destroyed pagers bear the logo of taiwanese company gold apollo, but that firm says the specific model was made by a different company in hungary. Hungarys government saying the company is an intermediary with no manufacturing or operational site, meaning its still not clear where in the shadowy Supply Chain these consumer devices were turned into deadly bombs. Former Fbi Official Clint watts says this was a highly sophisticated attack. The key point of all of this is this was a very coordinated attack against a very specific target. Its not something that would be easily undertaken by an individual or by random groups of criminals. Reporter with hezbollah now vowing revenge, israeli forces on high alert after a chain of blasts that could be the sparks for allout war. And, raf, what are we to make from u. S. Comments so far that they were aware that something was happening . Reporter well, lester, its probably not a surprise that Israel Wouldnt share the specifics of an operation this sensitive to u. S. But officials tell Nbc News they were aware israel was planning something in lebanon, but they were caught off guard when those pagers started exploding, and they stress the u. S. Was not involved in this attack. Lester. All right, Raf Sanchez tonight, thank you. We turn to the long awaited move by the federal reserve finally cutting its key Interest Rate by half a point. Its the first cut since the Covid Pandemic and comes as the fed has spent years trying to bring down inflation. Christine romans now on what it means for your money. Reporter the federal Reserve Today delivering a jolt to the u. S. Economy. A Half Percentage Point cut to its Benchmark Rate as inflation is making progress toward the feds target of 2 . Fed Chair Jerome Powell today saying the economy is in good shape. Its growing at a solid pace. Inflation is coming down. The Labor Market is in a strong pace. We want to keep it there. Reporter and powell indicated rates are likely to come down further this year and next. The feds campaign to rein in inflation, which hit 9. 1 in june 2022, drove Borrowing Costs for homes, cars, and Credit Cards to their highest levels in decades. For families like ben and hayley williams, the hope is lower rates will help the household budget. They have almost 11,000 in Credit Card Debt, some with Interest Rates over 30 . We never had Credit Card Debt prior to this. Reporter this was buying a house in indiana last december with a Mortgage Rate of 8. 1 . I know we maxed out our housing budget, but we kind of had to because anything under the 250,000 mark here was selling quickly or they were getting cash offers, and we just couldnt compete with that. Are you hoping that within the next couple of years youll be able to refinance then . Yeah, yeah, thats the goal. Reporter they feel house poor. About half of their income goes toward their home. Only 176 went to principal last month, and so over 2,000 was interest and taxes and insurance. Reporter Mortgage Rates were already falling in advance of the feds rate cut. The average 30year fixed rate down nearly two points from last october. Also falling, Gas Prices below 3 a gallon in 16 states. Nationwide a gallon of regular almost 70 cents cheaper than last year. And christine joining us here in the studio. There was a lot of conversation. Would they go for a smaller cut . They went big. Was that a surprise and what do you think the thinking was . Chair powell says he sees inflation moving into the right direction and shifting to the Job Market and the fed is forecasting the Unemployment Rate to tick up in the coming months. They just dont want that to get out of control. Christine romans, thank you. After Vice President harris and former President Trump courted the teamsters, the powerful Union Today making a Surprise Move, refusing to endorse either of them. Its something that hasnt happened since 1996. Heres garrett haake. Reporter tonight, in a blow to Vice President harris, the powerful Teamsters Union announcing it will make no endorsement in the 2024 president ial race. Harris becoming the first democratic nominee not to win the backing of americas largest union in nearly three decades. The union releasing an internal poll showing 58 of its members support trump. 31 back harris. In a statement writing it was, quote, left with few commitments on top teamsters issues from either candidate and found no definitive support among members for either partys nominee. Mr. President, any reaction to the Teamsters Decision not to endorse . No, its a great honor. Theyre not going to endorse the democrats. Thats a big thing. Big difference in the bit industrial state, do you think . Will it make a difference . The bit industrial i think so. The teamsters carry a lot of weight. Reporter harris has won the backing of other unions including the united autoworkers and said teamsters locals across the country have already endorsed her alongside the overwhelming majority of organized labor and comes as were seeing signs of new tighter Security Measures for trump. The Fbi Director saying hes devoting the, quote, full force of the agency to investigate the two attempts on Trumps Life within just two months. Trump overnight thanking Vice President harris for calling him. Today a little while ago i got a very nice call from kamala. [ booing ] no, it was very nice. Reporter meanwhile harris in a speech to the congressional hispanic Caucus Institute Blasting trumps call for Mass Deportations of undocumented migrants. Donald trump and his extremist allies will keep trying to pull us backwards. They have pledged to carry out the largest deportation, a Mass Deportation in american history. Imagine what that would look like and what that would be. How is that going to happen, massive raids, massive Detention Camps . What are they talking about . And garrett is here right now. Some good news for the Vice President. Theres Battleground Polling Quinnipiac putting out polls of the three Blue Wall states, wisconsin, michigan, pennsylvania, all showing harris with narrow margin of error leads, but holding those three states which Joe Biden won in 2020 still her clearest, easiest path to victory. Thank you. Also tonight Harvey Weinstein appearing in court for the first time since undergoing Emergency Heart Surgery last week. The former Movie Producer Pleading not guilty to a new Sex Crime Charge. We get more from anne thompson. Reporter more legal troubles for Harvey Weinstein tonight. Already serving a 16year sentence for a rape that occurred in los angeles, the onetime Movie Mogul returned to a new York Courtroom today to face a new indictment, charged with a Criminal Sexual Act in the first degree, accused of assaulting a woman at a new York Hotel in the spring of 2006. The 72yearold pleaded not guilty. Mr. Weinstein has been very consistent from the time of his investigation. He never forced himself on anybody. Reporter weinstein will also be retried on the Sex Crimes including rape he was convicted of in 2020. That guilty verdict, a landmark in the me too movement, was overturned this year. The states highest court ruled it was wrong to allow women to testify about allegations against weinstein that were not part of the case. Weinstein sat in a wheelchair with officers behind him. Just last week he had Emergency Surgery to remove fluid from his heart and lungs. Louise godbold is 1 of at least 80 women to accuse weinstein of Sexual Harassment or assault. Well, justice looks like him being in prison and not able to hurt any more people. Reporter both sides will be back in court next month to argue if these charges should be tried together. Anne thompson, Nbc News, New York. And also back in court in New York today, sean diddy combs. A judge denying bail again in his Sex Trafficking Case. Chloe melas is with us. Chloe, a major blow to the music mogul. It is. This is the second time sean combs has been denied bail in his federal Sex Trafficking Case. Court prosecutors arguing that combs is a danger to the community, and they said that they feared combs would intimidate witnesses if released on bail. Now, combs attorneys argued today the Brooklyn Jail where he is being held which once housed Michael Cohen and Ghislaine Maxwell had horrific conditions that were not appropriate for a pretrail detention. But tonight the judge was not persuaded, and now combs will remain behind bars with trial not likely to begin for at least a year and if convicted he faces a maximum sentence of life behind bars, lester. All right, chloe, thank you. A terrible accident during a Field Trip to an Apple Orchard in wisconsin. A group of children and adults were on a Wagon Ride when one wagon lost control going downhill and abruptly overturned. 25 people were injured. At least one was airlifted, but no deaths are reported. In just 60 seconds u. S. Intelligence sounding the alarm about foreign interference in the 2024 election. 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It comes as top Tech Company officials were grilled about iran and other countries efforts to undermine the election on their platforms. Heres ryan nobles. Reporter tonight, the Senate Intelligence Committee warning the overseas efforts to interfere with the 2024 election is already under way. From russia, iran, china, and others. Other Nation States who figured out that its easy to spread Misinformation And Disinformation and try to interfere in our elections. Reporter senators say overseas actors are using Artificial Intelligence to create Web Pages that mimic traditional News Sites pointing to one example, falsely claiming there were three potential shooters in the Assassination Attempt to former President Trump in pennsylvania. The main goal of these false posts, senators warn, is not to push for a particular candidate, but to Sow Dissension and raise doubt in the american political system, and they say the Tech Companies need to do more to stop it. You dont need to have a big, expensive operation to pursue some of this. I think we should anticipate that in the years to come, and its happening already. Reporter the Tech Platforms argue theyve made great strides in detecting false posts, sometimes with the help of ai. Just this morning, we saw a russian group put online an ai enhanced video putting into Vice President harris words at a rally words she never spoke. Reporter that post was taken down, and late tonight, more evidence that irans efforts to interfere in the election continue. The fbi says theyve discovered that iran attempted to send stolen digital materials from the Trump Campaign to the Biden Campaign, but theres no evidence the Biden Campaign used any of it. Lester. Okay, ryan, thank you. And with the spread of Misinformation And Disinformation top of mind, were back in a moment with a new hightech way to fight Conspiracy Theories. Can an Ai Chatbot actually change peoples opinions . We put it to the test. Es my . 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Meet debunkbot powered by openai and created by researchers at mit, cornell, and american who say it can help reduce peoples beliefs in conspiracies significantly. Lets go in that direction. Reporter we tried it out with one of the brains behind the bot, thomas costello, with a conspiracy that decades of debunking hasnt eradicated. Thats One Small Step for man. I believe the Moon Landing is not real. Right. I dont believe that. I dont actually believe that. Reporter the bot asks us to elaborate on the belief. Why is the flag waving . Reporter and to rate how strongly we feel about it. Im going to say 99 true. Reporter then in a series of screens, the chatbot presents facts, lots of them. How can you be sure that what its telling me here is accurate . Absolutely. We found it tends to be quite accurate and hired a professional Fact Checker to go through the study in our subset, and in 99. 2 of cases that we looked at, the Fact Checker rated it as true. Reporter at The End we reassess how strongly we feel about the belief now, and its here where researchers found something surprising. On average they reduced their belief by 20 . Reporter and consistent over a wide series of topics, they found one in four participants disavowed the belief altogether. I think if you gave the facts to a semi competent lawyer, the lawyer would make a much more persuasive case but the lawyer would have to do all this Background Research and ai can conjure it up in 12 seconds. Reporter in reality getting folks to engage at all could be tough. What makes you think somebody who believes in a Conspiracy Theory will type it in so their minds can be changed . I would say a lot of Conspiracy Theorists are motivated by truth and accuracy. Going to a Chatbot Interface that provides factual information seems like a good way to do that to my. Reporter like technology, it can cut both ways. You could imagine a version of this that spreads Conspiracy Theories. Reporter the Debunkbot Team now working on refining the tech hoping it helps Shine A Light down conspiratorial Rabbit Holes. We can use facts to open up the top of the Rabbit Hole to begin to crawl out. Reporter a Belief Worth further research. Hallie jackson, Nbc News, washington. And when we come back, theres good news about the women who, indeed, helped nasa Blast Off in Space And Land on the moon. Now decades later theyre getting high honors here on earth. [ applause ] some people just know they could save hundreds on Car Insurance by checking allstate first. You drive in today . Of course not, theres no parking. Like you know to check the sign first, before parking. Do you hear it . I hear it. I feel like i do hear it. Oh aww, man. Why didnt you read the sign . Think you can pay a Parking Ticket in Heirloom Tomatoes . Yeah, checking first is smart. So check allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. Youre in good hands with allstate. 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Reporter for decades their names were in anonymity though their contributions were out of this world. Their legacy will send us back to the moon. Reporter today on Capitol Hill a congressional Gold Medal Ceremony honoring the pioneering women of nasa from the 1930s to the 1970s who helped launch the Space Race including 82yearold Dr. Christine darden. Although we call them hidden figures, we shouldnt think of them merely as supporting characters in the american story of space exploration, they were the engineers and mathematicians who actually wrote the story itself. Reporter their story inspired a book, then theres no mathematical formula for that. Reporter an Academy Award winning movie, hidden figures. Katherine johnson, among them three Trail Blazers honored posthumously today, katherine johnson, dorothy vaughan, and mary jackson. To see the impact she made on the world i wish she were here to see it. Reporter their work on the Apollo Space Program led to this. Thats One Small Step for man. Reporter as johnson told us in 2016, John Glenn insisted she verify the calculations before his first orbit around the earth. He knew that if i had done it, it was right. Reporter tonight her daughter is in awe. She would have said, whats all the fuss about . I was just doing my job because she was a very humble. Her work was important to her, and she did the best that she could. Reporter a generation of women hidden no more. Gabe gutierrez, Nbc News, washington. And that is nightly news for this wednesday. Thank you for watching. Im lester holt. Please take care of yourself and each other. Good night. We have a liftoff 32 minutes past the hour, liftoff on apollo 11. Host the plea from investigators as they search for a suspect. Good afternoon. Im audrey asistio. Welcome to nbc Bay Area News at 4 30. Our ian cull is talking to the victims daughter as well as detectives. Hes